


Worried Sick

by SuperstarMorgan



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, M/M, Mild Angst, Sickfic, gender neutral reader
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-02
Updated: 2018-02-02
Packaged: 2019-03-12 13:20:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13548180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SuperstarMorgan/pseuds/SuperstarMorgan
Summary: You’ve come down with an alien cold, and the Doctor is looking after you! After you sneak off while he’s away, he frantically searches for you.





	Worried Sick

**Author's Note:**

> This story is also on my Tumblr if you would rather read it there: https://madboxwithagirl.tumblr.com/post/168916874329/worried-sick
> 
> Warnings: Mild angst, some talk of sickness related things (sneezing, coughing, etc.)

You hadn’t expected to fall ill. Although, no one really expects to catch some alien sickness, do they? But then again, you travel to all sorts of different planets and galaxies, so maybe you should have expected to get something. It didn’t matter anymore though; you were in bed with a crummy cold.

The cold itself didn’t seem any different from a typical human cold besides the fact that it lasts about double the time and medicine doesn’t help. Luckily for you, you got a milder version of the cold. For the most part, you felt pretty okay besides the stuffy nose, mild fever, and occasional sneezing fits. But the Doctor had told you that it could very easily turn into a much stronger and potentially deadly illness with any physical exertion, so he made you stay in bed. You were on day seven of the illness and you were more than thoroughly annoyed with being unable to move except to use the restroom when he wasn’t paying attention.

At first, you didn’t really mind having to stay in bed since the Doctor insisted on cuddling with you to help you feel warmer, which it easily did. It was already difficult enough to resist cuddles from the Time Lord, but the chills from the fever made it impossible to say no. His slim body surprisingly held a lot of body heat, something that you were more grateful for than ever. Despite loving being in his arms, after a couple of days it was beginning to become difficult to want to stay in bed. Your body hurt from lack of use and you wanted to go on an adventure. You had tried to convince him to take you on a teeny, tiny trip to some new planet, but he refused with ease.

“Not a chance,” he said, shaking his head and kissing your forehead. “You’re still ill and I can’t possibly risk letting you get even worse. With too much physical activity, this little cold will become a nasty flu. I can’t let that happen, now can I?” You huffed and buried your face into his chest, happy that he cared about you so much but upset that he wouldn’t give in.

“I don’t like you.”

“You know you love me.”

During day seven, you simply couldn’t handle being in bed any longer. Your joints were sore and you had to get up and do something, even if it was just walking around the TARDIS for a while. The Doctor had left to make you some soup, so you decided to take that opportunity to get up and sneak around for a bit. You knew that you couldn’t be gone for more than 15 or 20 minutes, but it was something. You slowly got out of your bed and stretched, happy to be using your limbs again. Slowly, you opened the door to your room and looked around for any sign of the kitchen or the alien. Satisfied that neither were nearby, you crept out and began to look for the library, your favorite place in the ship.

Walking carefully, the Doctor started to make his way out of the kitchen with a tray of hot soup, hot tea, and some solid food for you. He felt terrible for taking you to the planet where you had contracted your cold. He had completely forgotten that humans were incredibly susceptible to the planet’s many illnesses. There were so many more that you could have gotten, each one more severe than the last. He was thankful that you had caught one of the more mild ones and that you would be alright within a few more days. He loved you dearly and would be nothing less than devastated if he lost you.

You and the Doctor had been together for many months and he had never been happier. In that time, he realized that he could never go back to you not being in his life, so he was going to do everything in his power to keep you from getting worse. He knew that you weren’t happy with being stuck in bed, but he simply couldn’t risk it. He knew that you loved being in his arms, so he used that as a way to keep you in bed. He tried to stay with you as often as he possibly could, only leaving to get you food. Not that he minded, of course. You grounded him. With anyone else, he wanted nothing more than to go out on a new adventure. With you, he simply wanted to be around you, even if it meant staying in bed and cuddling.

As he made it to your door, he got a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach. The door was slightly open. He hadn’t left it like that, he was sure of it. Nudging the door open with his shoulder, he looked inside and saw that you weren’t in bed where he had left you. The Doctor dropped the tray on the floor and ran off down the halls to look for you, ignoring the broken glass and ruined food.

His body kicked into overdrive as he went through every door he came across, hoping to find you safe and sound. With each door that didn’t lead to you, the more worried he became. He knew you couldn’t have gone far and that you were most likely alright, but he couldn’t shake off the fear that you had gone and made yourself worse off. He tried to reason with himself, knowing that you knew better, but then he remembered that you had gone off when he had told you not to exert yourself.

Coming to the door to the library, the Doctor rushed in, having little hope of finding you in there. He ran through anyway as he continued to debate with himself on whether or not you were alright. Finally, as he prepared to go onto the next floor of the massive room, he saw you leaning against one of the shelves, eyes dashing back and forth as you tried to find a book that suited your mood. The Doctor called out your name frantically and ran towards you, capturing you in a hug before you could look up.

“D-Doctor?” you said, confused as he quickly lead you to a seat. As he helped, well, forced you sit down, he tried to put on his best stern face.

“Sweetheart, I told you that if you exerted yourself you could make your sickness worse. Why didn’t you listen to me?” He tried hard to keep his face stern, but the fear in his eyes couldn’t be hidden. Your face fell as you realized how much you had worried him. You had meant to get back to your room before he came back, but you must have lost track of time. Now he was upset that you had disobeyed his orders and made him worry for you. Letting your eyes fall from his face, you began to explain yourself quietly.

“I know that if I’m not careful I’m going to make myself even more sick, but Doctor, I’ve just been so bored. I haven’t been able to walk around or stretch my body. I’ve been so sore because I haven’t even been allowed to walk. You’ve carried me to the bathroom, bathed me, you’ve even fed me. I know that if I’m too active, I’ll get worse, but I just wanted to move about to try to get the pain to go away and maybe find something to do until I’m better.” You glanced back up at the Doctor, his face having softened slightly. Sighing, you looked away again. “And…”

“And?” he questioned, his head tilting to the side slightly.

“Don’t…you think that you may be a tad bit overbearing?” you asked, your voice growing slightly more quiet. Before the Doctor could reply, you continued. “I mean I know that I have to be careful, but walking for a few minutes? Or giving myself a quick shower? Or lifting a spoon? I get that you don’t want me getting something that could be dangerous, but don’t you think that those things aren’t enough to cause anything worse?” You kept your eyes from focusing on the Time Lord, instead opting to focus on some marks on the floor. Those suddenly became very interesting. What neat patterns those marks make. Your focus was broken with a sigh from the Doctor and his hand touching your own.

“Darling, I…I know that I must seem to be overprotective of you, and maybe I am, especially because it’s you and I want you to be safe and sound and out of harm’s way, but maybe I’m not because the universe is dangerous and you’re a human being and humans are terribly weak compared to other creatures, but I know that you’re a resilient person and that you’re probably fine more often than not, but then again you’re human, but-“

“Doctor.”

“Right right, sorry.” He chuckled softly, trying to lighten the mood the best he could, your slight smile and glance at him showing he succeeded. “I just…worry. You’re the first person in a very long time that I’ve been able to share this bond with and I can’t stand the thought of you getting hurt because of a stupid mistake that I made. I love you, and I want to be able to love you for many more years to come.” The sad look in his eyes was back, the one he got when he thought of his old planet and what he had lost. You realized that he was scared. He had been alone for so long and he didn’t want to have that happen again, especially if he could prevent it. You placed your hands on top of his own, giving them a light squeeze as you smiled at him softly.

“Hey now, all of the dangers we’ve faced, the creatures that have tried to kill me, the injuries that I’ve gotten, and you think that a cold is going to take me out?” You laughed softly, moving one of your hands to his cheek. “I’m fine, alright? It was just a little walk. It’s not going to hurt me. It’s alright to worry, but you need to trust me, okay?” The sad look remained in his ancient, brown eyes, but a small, genuine smile graced his lips. He nodded and moved his arms around you, pulling you in for a firm hug.

“I trust you. But no more running off without telling me where you’re going. That’s not a habit we want you to pick up. We wouldn’t want you to get into trouble now, do we?” He pulled back and smiled a bit wider before suddenly picking you up and heading for the exit. “Now, back to bed with you! You made me literally drop your meal so I could come find you, so now I have to make you more! And no joining me in the kitchen. We both know how that will turn out.” You both laughed as he carried you out the door and back towards your room. You began to settle in his arms when you suddenly remembered.

“Wait! I never got a book to read! We’ve gotta go back!” You looked him in the eye and tried to give him your best sad eyes, but to no avail.

“Nope!” he declined, adding a little pop to the end of the word. He grinned widely at your pout before continuing. “I’m going to read you a book that I picked out myself. Trust me, you’ll love it!”

“I thought you were supposed to be the one trusting me!”

“Ah. Yes. Well, maybe tomorrow dear.”

“I don’t like you.”

“You know you love me.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Any and all feedback is highly appreciated!


End file.
